


failsafe

by fowo



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Aftercare, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, RK900 struggles with his programming, Safe Sane and Consensual, Use of Safe Words, assholes as people, bad domspace, pain play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 11:11:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15684261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fowo/pseuds/fowo
Summary: RK900 always accomplishes his mission. Only sometimes he doesn't know if he wants to.





	failsafe

 

RK900 hits with his open palm, with a perfectly calculated trajectory and a controlled 48,5% of total strength.

 

Gavin's head flies to the side with the force of it. His capillaries burst. His skin breaks. His overworking heart pumps blood out of the wound instantly. RK900's right hand already left his vicinity, untainted. In the left, he's still holding the leather leash that is clipped to the collar around Gavin's throat. The buckle is latched a bit too tightly, and already Gavin's face is a shade darker than his chest with the deprivation of sufficient oxygen. 

 

The blood from his nose drips to the floor in mucous strings. He's muttering curses. He was forbidden from talking, but RK900 doesn't care.

 

His joints lock up completely.

 

Gavin has his wrists bound together crudely with zip ties behind his back, and all he can do to wipe away the blood is to rub his face against his shoulder. He notices the pause, the lack of anything. "Green," he says, through a bubble of spit and blood in his mouth. "I'm good. Go on."

 

There's nothing. No acknowledging, no in-character comment, no further hit of the agreed ten. 

 

Gavin raises his head to look up. "Sir?" he asks. His nose is stuffed with blood. His voice croaks when he speaks.

 

RK900 overrides the lockup of his limbs manually with great effort. He loses his grip on the leash and it falls to the floor between Gavin's thighs with a clink.

 

"Red," says Nines. 

 

There is a heartbeat of silence. Then Gavin sniffs wetly, audibly in the silence. "Shit," he says. "Are you OK, Nines? What's wrong?"

 

"I..." Nines lets out something akin to a shuddering breath. He looks down at Gavin's beat up face, then at his own hands. "I hit you, I—"

 

"Nines," Gavin interrupts. He clears his throat around the mucus in it. He groans when he gets up from his kneeling position, knees popping in protest. Because his hands are still bound, he bumps his shoulder against Nines'. "Hey. It's fine, I consented."

 

"I—" Nines looks at him. He's never been the most expressive android Gavin's ever seen, but the flaring red light on his temple is more than enough.

 

"Do you want to stop?" Gavin asks him, and Nines gives a curt, tiny nod. Gavin nods too, slowly. "Okay. That's fine. Take a deep breath. We're gonna talk about this, Nines, you hear me?"

 

Nines nods again, and takes a step backwards, as if separating himself from the scene. And then another, until he can sit down on Gavin's bed. 

 

Gavin follows and turns his back toward him so that Nines can untie his wrists. He doesn't need scissors, he just hooks his fingers beneath the plastic and pulls until it snaps. 

 

Gavin groans when his hands fall to his sides, and his arms are shaking when he brings them up to rub over the skin to help the blood flow along. He then falls heavily onto his bed next to Nines.

 

"Can I touch you?" he asks carefully, and Nines nods tersely. He leans a little to the side, and Gavin pulls him into a hug, cradling him against his chest and nosing into his hair. He rubs over Nines' arms.

 

For a long while, neither of them says anything. Gavin just keeps rubbing gently over Nines' arms and back, keeping him close. He doesn't even bother with removing the collar and leash he's still wearing, although it's becoming the wrong end of uncomfortable. 

 

Finally, after what feels like an insurmountable amount of time, Gavin sees Nines' LED circle back to yellow. Only then does he carefully sit back, just enough to look at Nines' face.

 

"What happened there?" he asks, running a hand over Nines' neck. 

 

Nines looks at him, and his eyes roam over Gavin's face. Gavin hasn't seen it yet, but he can guess what he looks like. Lip and nose busted, cheek bruised. Unprompted, Nines raises his hands up to finally remove the collar, and Gavin takes a deep breath and lets it out in a long sigh. 

 

"You didn't answer my question, Nines," Gavin says, taking Nines' hands and throwing the collar he's still holding aside. "What did we do that freaked you out like that? You shut down for a second there, for fuck's sake."

 

"I hit you," Nines says again. "You're bleeding—"

 

"It's fine," Gavin says, before the fucking quarter drops. "I mean, Christ, no—what we do is kind of fucked up, isn't it? Is that what's got you upset?"

 

Nines doesn't answer, but his LED is spinning and spinning, and there's a frown between his brows and in the corner of his mouth. Gavin waits for a bit, but then mutters, "Nines, you gotta talk to me."

 

"I wasn't programmed to fail—" Nines says finally. There's a weird determination to his voice, like he's trying to convince himself. 

 

"You didn't  _ fail _ , Nines, Jesus fuck," says Gavin. "Getting kinda freaked out happens in sessions. Remember that time when you choked me and I panicked? I called it off too, didn't I?"

 

"That's not—" Nines actually sighs in exasperation. "You don't understand."

 

"Well then help me understand!" Gavin tries to keep the frustration out of his voice. That's not gonna help either of them. He feels helpless, because usually Nines is so damn cocksure and composed, and Gavin knows he's only seen his LED red like once or twice before. Nines doesn't get rattled, doesn't freak out. "What was running through your head?"

 

"I just... It occurred to me that this... is what I was supposed to do—"

 

Gavin is this close to making a badly-timed quip but he can bite down on it in time and says nothing, just lets Nines explain.

 

Nines seems to catch on to it regardless. Of course he does, he can detect every minute detail in humans. "What I mean is... I was designed as a weapon. As something to incapacitate humans and androids alike. I was designed to be stronger and faster than you. I was design to win under any and all circumstances."

 

"Again," says Gavin, slowly, "opting out of a scene isn't failing—"

 

"No, Gavin," Nines interrupts tersely. "I don't know if I... if I enjoy these things we do because I  _ enjoy _ them, or because I was  _ programmed _ to  _ do _ them in the first place!"

 

"Oh," says Gavin, and then again, " _ oh _ ."

 

Silence hangs heavy between them as both of them dwell on their own thoughts. They're sitting quietly with each other, and Gavin still has Nines' hands in his own, and rubs absentmindedly over his perfectly shaped, blunt nails. The blood on Gavin's face starts to dry and itch. The sudden loss of endorphins is making him sluggish and tired, and he feels like he can't give Nines the focus he deserves.

 

As if knowing what he's thinking, Nines lifts his hand to carefully brush his knuckles over the bruises on Gavin's face. "I should get you cleaned up," he says softly. 

 

"It's fine," mutters Gavin, but Nines shakes his head.

 

"No, it's important I take care of you," he argues. "I have to."

 

Gavin looks at him, and then nods. Nines helps him up, and when they stand, leans in to kiss Gavin, but at the contact, Gavin flinches. 

 

"Ow," he mutters, fingers coming up to shield his sensitive flesh. 

 

"Go into the bathroom," Nines instructs. "I'll get you an ice pack."

 

"Yessir," Gavin says, devoid of any irony, and drags his tired and abused body into the bathroom where he collapses on the closed lid of the toilet. 

 

He rests for a moment with his eyes closed until Nines follows after him and hands him an ice pack that Gavin presses against pretty much his entire face. Nines wets a washcloth and starts to carefully clean away the blood from his face and where it dripped to his body. The first bruises already have a slight purple tinge. 

 

"Hey, Nines," says Gavin into the silence between them. "Hypothetically, right? If I came up with something new... let's say, shit, I dunno, I was suddenly into age play. So let's say I come up to you like, hey Nines, I wanna call you Daddy and you call me your good little girl or whatever, what would you think?"

 

Nines considers this, LED spinning as he continues to wipe away at the dried blood on Gavin's face. "If it's what you wanted, I would give it a try," he answers finally. "Though I do consider it a little weird. Technically, I am much younger than you, and—"

 

"Yeah, yeah, jeez, don't fuckin' remind me," Gavin says hurriedly, but with a cracked grin. "Jesus, should one of your android leader friends decide some day that androids need to have been alive for a certain amount of time before having sex, I'm in so much fucking trouble."

 

"That would make no sense, Gavin," Nines chides. "The moment we are activated, we're emotionally mature."

 

"Right," says Gavin, like he doesn't believe a second of it. "But what I'm saying is, you'd do it, right, because I asked you to?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Well, then, why is it any different when I ask you to smack me to next week?" 

 

Nines thinks for a moment. His LED hasn't stopped being yellow the entire time. "Violence comes very easily to me," he says finally. "Of course I have social protocols telling me when it's appropriate, but—I don't know. There is no doubt in my mind that, when applicable, I will utilize it."

 

"Christ," mutters Gavin. He carefully rubs his fingertips over his bruised cheek, wincing at the pain. Yeah, Nines really doesn't hold back once he's been given the OK, that much is for sure. Though, he always adheres to their rules. Gavin says stop, Nines stops. 

 

"Okay, then, what about—" Gavin pushes against his bruised cheek from the inside with his tongue. He'll carry these bruises for a week or so, and the thought is exciting. "Consider if I asked you to—"

 

" _ Gavin _ ," says Nines sternly. He tips his chin so they look each other in the eye. "The question is not whether or not I enjoy being dominant towards you. The question is, do I like it because I like it for myself, and because I like making you feel good, or because my programming tells me to?"

 

"Huh," says Gavin, blinking a few times. "How do we... find out?"

 

Nines' posture shrinks a bit. "I don't know," he admits, very quietly. 

 

They look at each other a moment, and then Gavin takes the washcloth from Nines' hands and throws it into the sink. "C'mere," he says as he gets up, holding Nines' hand still as he drags him behind himself back into the bedroom. Nines follows quietly, and stands in the middle of the room when Gavin opens his wardrobe and starts digging around in the drawers. 

 

"Put these on," he says finally, holding out sweatpants and a worn shirt.

 

"I'm taller than you," Nines points out, and Gavin grimaces.

 

"These are too big for me, just fucking put them on and don't be a douche," he insists. Nines nods, and unbuttons his shirt and opens his belt and takes off his pants. All of it is methodical and with practiced ease, like all he does. If it weren't for the damn yellow LED, there would be no way to know he's still upset. 

 

"Can I ask what this is for?" Nines says, muffled as he pulls an old DPD shirt over his head. 

 

"An experiment," says Gavin, watching as Nines smooths the clothes over himself with scrutiny. "How's it feel?"

 

Nines cocks his head just the littlest bit. "I do not understand."

 

"I mean," says Gavin, feeling suddenly less secure in his idea, rubbing his neck. "You're wearing my old shit. Any opinion on that? Do you like it?"

 

"Oh," says Nines, blinking, and looking down at himself. He runs his hands over the worn-out jersey again, this time not to smooth it, but to feel it. "Yes," he says finally. "I suppose I do."

 

"Okay," says Gavin around a relieved sigh, "cool, that's good, yeah. Can you say why?"

 

Nines' LED spins. He's rubbing his fingers over the washed-out DPD logo on the front of the shirt. "These clothes are very old," he starts. "They're well-worn and soft. I can't tell without an oral analysis but I suspect traces of your DNA in the fibers."

 

"Don't lick my fucking clothes," Gavin warns him, but the snark hides what he really feels about a very weirdly worded compliment. "What I'm getting at is, you like this. Pretty sure CyberLife didn't design you to like my shitty old clothes."

 

"I suppose not," Nines admits quietly. "It is highly irrelevant to my purpose."

 

"Here's a thing you gotta know about humans, Nines," Gavin tells him. "We have no purpose. We run around on this pebble of dirt in the universe and we try eat and fuck as much as possible before we die, and that's pretty much it. Nobody has a fuckin' purpose."

 

"That's a very unsettling thought," Nines admits.

 

Gavin scoffs. "Which is  _ exactly _ why we try to eat and fuck so much, because it makes us feel good about our poor meaningless existence. Come here." He jerks his head to make Nines follow, and together they walk over to the living room. Gavin sets Nines down on the couch and saunters into the kitchen to get himself a bottle of beer. Upon reentering the living room, he grabs the blanket from the chair, and drapes it over their bodies as he sits down.

 

"Tell fuckin' no-one," he says, "but we're gonna fucking cuddle and watch a movie like normal  fucking people. Man, I wish you could eat, I'd order us a pizza with cheese crust or something. Soul food. Hey, do you want some of your blue shit? I think I still have a bottle somewhere."

 

Nines smiles and shakes his head. "The sentiment is appreciated, but you know I only need to consume Thirium for maintenance. My systems are all running at optimal capacity."

 

"Fine, whatever," mutters Gavin against the opening of his beer. "Fuckin' androids are fucking weird, I swear. Here—" And he presses the remote into Nines' hand. "Pick a movie."

 

"Me?" asks Nines, puzzled. "Gavin, I don't—"

 

"Exactly," Gavin interrupts. "Watching a movie because you had a little emotional hiccup is like the last thing CyberLife would have had plans for. So pick a movie you think looks good, and we're gonna watch that shit."

 

Nines looks a him, long enough to make Gavin feel uncomfortable. He takes a long drag of his beer, staring stubbornly ahead.

 

"Sometimes I wish you would let me tell people how you are when we're alone," Nines says softly. "I'm positive it would change people's opinion about you."

 

"Hey, I spent like ten years buildin' my damn reputation, you don't get to ruin that just because I... because I—" The words are right there, on the tip of his tongue. But he stumbles over them, and he can't say them, and he clears his throat, and gestures toward the TV. "Just pick a damn movie!" 

 

Nines settles a little more into the couch, until his arms brush against Gavin's, and Gavin's legs are halfway over his own. Nines takes his time scrolling through the offered movies, checking the summaries to find something that is as far away from his programming as possible. Gavin gives some commentary as he sits next to him, warning him when Nines hovers for too long over cop movies or the like. 

 

"Pick something that has nothing to do with work, or your shitty programming or whatever," Gavin insists. He's halfway through his bottle of beer even before Nines could decide on something. He rests his bruised cheek against the cold glass, and he's leaning more heavily against Nines' shoulder. His heartbeat has slowed down, and Nines surmises it will not take the length of a movie until he's asleep. 

 

He settles for a children's movie made by Studio Pixar. The simple and emotional story, the bright colors, the target audience, all of it seems unfitting for RK900.

 

They watch mostly in silence, though some of the slapstick gets Gavin to chuckle under his breath. Detecting emotion in an animated movie is harder than with real people, so Nines needs to ask a few questions about the protagonist's reasoning, and Gavin explains patiently (but not without crude language, though Nines doesn't mind; if he didn't, he wouldn't be here in the first place).

 

After he falls asleep, Nines is left to decoding everything on his own. Nines notices how it gets harder without actual human input. Nines, for all his superior programming, lacks in many other things. He doesn't dwell on it though, because he knows it's useless. So instead, he keeps the sleeping Gavin close, carefully playing with his hair where Gavin has slid down to rest in his lap. It would be better for the human to sleep in his bed, but Nines finds he can't wake him just yet. Thirty minutes seems to be a reasonable length for a nap, and Nines sets his timer for it. 

 

RK900 enjoys completing objectives. He's never experienced life before deviancy, so he doesn't know what it was like when every android always knew what to do. Since he's been awakened, Nines had to set his goals by himself. A lot of them are work related, and these come easy to him. It's harder for everything else. Having a human partner helps, because humans seemingly always know what to do. Even if it's bad decisions, it's decisions nonetheless. Like his predecessor, RK900 decided to make looking out for his human a prime directive. 

 

Pleasing Gavin is surprisingly easy, most of the time. Human emotions can be contradicting and confusing, but Gavin is a simple individual in that regard. He likes his work, and his cat, and for all his aggressive behavior and speech, he also really enjoys to be reigned in. RK900 finds all of this very agreeable. He too, likes his work, and Gavin's cat is not an unwanted presence. He's happy to provide the controlling strength in his life that Gavin needs. 

 

So it is, by all means, a very convenient arrangement. 

 

He likes completing objectives.

 

Right now, his next objectives are: 1) finish watching the movie and 2) wake Gavin and 2a) help Gavin into his bed. Nines finds he looks forward to completing all of these, although they have nothing to do with his initial programming. 

 

The emotional shock from before, however, still sits heavy in his memory, like clogged-up cache. Nines has already run a diagnostic that came back clean, so all he can do to clear up his system is to power down tonight and hope the remnants of temporary files will be removed when he reboots. 

 

As he sits there on the couch with his human heavy (and snoring, and drooling) in his lap, the resolution suddenly comes to Nines. 

 

It doesn't matter what parts of his programming he resorts to to complete an objective. The only question is whether or not he succeeds. If anything he should be happy that he's been equipped with the right instruments to make Gavin happy. If RK900 was an AP700 or PL600, he imagines hitting his human would be much harder tor him, what with how far from his initial programming it was. 

 

The thought is somewhat calming. Nines feels his some of his processing power shut down, unneeded for the moment. He must have made an involuntary movement, because suddenly Gavin twitches and rouses from his sleep. 

 

He makes a sound that's somewhere between a snort and a sigh and wipes at his eyes, then realizing he's drooled in his sleep again and wipes at his chin. "Jesus, fuck," he mutter as he sits up, groaning. "God, shit, everything hurts."

 

Nines' lips twitch into the facsimile of a smile. "You asked for it," he reminds him quietly, even as his objectives update. The only thing left for him is to take Gavin to bed, make sure he gets the rest he needs.

 

"So I did," Gavin mutters, stretching his sore limbs. Then he eyes Nines. "You good?" he asks.

 

"Yes," says Nines simply. "I would like to help you to bed now, Gavin, if that's alright," he adds.

 

Gavin stares a moment, still blinking through hazy sleepy eyes. "Yeah," he says then. "Sure. Sounds fuckin' creepy if you say it like that, but, sure."

 

"And I would like to enter my sleep mode with you," Nines adds. "I think I need a bit of recovery time myself."

 

Gavin nods, and starts to get up. Nines immediately helps him up, despite Gavin muttering that he's not 'a fuckn' invalid.'

 

"Hey, so," he says as they shuffle back to the bathroom. "How was the movie? Sorry I passed out on you."

 

"It's fine," says Nines. "It was enjoyable. I... liked it. I also liked that you trust me enough to fall asleep in my lap, eve after what happened."

 

"Christ," Gavin mutters, and hurriedly rounds the corner into his bathroom. He washes his face over the faucet, just to have an excuse not to look at Nines for a moment. "I mean, of course," he says as he dries off.

 

"Brush your teeth," says Nines, and hands him his toothbrush. Gavin takes it. Nines also hands him his toothpaste. Gavin accepts that, too. "Two minutes minimum, Gavin," he reminds, already setting the timer. 

 

"You know," Gavin says as he puts the toothbrush in his mouth. It makes his words muffled, but Nines has a feeling that's the point. "I think I like it when you tell me what you like. Like, what you wanna do for  _ your _ sake."

 

Nines smiles. "Me too," he says. 

 

They sleep together in Gavin's bed that night, not because Gavin asked him to, but because Nines decided he wanted to. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> again, this came over me before I knew what happened. i love that this is a ship that I as a creator get to explore so many different things with. I have two other fics sitting here, jeesh.
> 
> comments mean everything. the support and encouragement i've gotten from this fandom is wonderful. i love you guys all so much. i'm glad people enjoy my content for this dumpster fire of a ship. hmu if you like: [twitter](https://twitter.com/fowo__) / [tumblr](https://fowo.tumblr.com)


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